Invincible
by caityjane
Summary: Idea taken from Glee: The Beginning. What if Rachel had gone to stage school? Has she make the right decision, and can Finn and Rachel's lives still collide?
1. Prologue

_New story, the idea has been taken from Glee: The Beginning. In the story Rachel has to make a decision whether to stay on at McKinley or go to a place where her talents will be more greatly appreciated. As all gleeks know, she stays at McKinley and alas glee was born but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she did move to a stage school. Would she stay in touch with Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie? Would she fit in at her new school? And the final and most important question, would she ever get to kiss Finn Hudson like she always believed she would?_

_This is just a prologue, so if you don't like it feel free to tell me and I'll stop writing it. However I have to say I am MAJORLY excited about this :) So I hope you enjoy... take note this is sort of small as well. P.S. DGAO readers I'm still working on it :)_

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Rachel stepped into the reception of her new school. Glancing from left to right she saw teachers wearing smart suits and carrying sheets of music, impressing Rachel greatly. The few students dotted around seemed energetic and enthusiastic, passionate about the subjects they had come here to specialise in. She could almost feel the stardom in the air, the potential success practically lingering on her tongue. At first it had seemed a rash decision to move so suddenly to a new school half way through the year, but just stepping through the doorway and noting the plush carpets and decorative walls made her feel more secure in her new surroundings.

Marching up to the headmasters door Rachel flicked out her yellow compact mirror engraved with yellow stars - a metaphor she felt most meaningful and poignant today of all days. Smoothing down her hair, she rapped on the door three times. Her dad's couldn't be there due to a 'very important conference meeting' but nothing that minor could sway a star like Rachel on such a wonderous day. As far as she was concerned, she had all the necessary paperwork for a smooth transfer to 'Ohio School of the Arts' and that was all that mattered.

Putting her best and most typical Rachel Berry grin on her face she straightened her clothes, ensuring she looked her best for when the headmaster finally decided to answer the door. Because first impressions? Almost as important as metaphors. Rachel liked to pretend she could only feel relief at the thought of leaving that vile, slushie abusing school but there was the tiniest hint of something else she wouldn't (couldn't) admit to anyone - including herself.

As the headmaster eventually came to the door (a foul first impression as far as Rachel was concerned), she put the fleeting thought of Finn Hudson's smile out of her mind.

"You had nothing Rachel, only two shared 'moments' and an overactive imagination. This is all you've ever wanted!" Rachel tried to convince herself of this fact in the mere moments before the headteacher appeaed, but she knew was lying the moment she felt guilt and disappointment in her gut.

"Maybe you were meant to be more then a shared moment..."

It was all she could do to keep herself from shaking the thought from her head - the encore had continued to play in her head all weekend. However, itt wouldn't do to look like a maniac in front of your new headteacher, regardless of how tardy they were.

* * *

For a guy who sucked at observations, Finn Hudson was pretty quick to realise Rachel's warm, musical voice had disappeared from the morning annoucements. He'd secretly loved listening to her enchanting voice seeping through the tannoy - it was almost as if he could feel her smile warming his insides up, her enthusiasm bouncing off the walls. He remembered the first time he heard her in homeroom; he'd been late and was getting shouted at by Mrs Williams but her voice - that amazing, sing-song voice - enabled him to tune out, reveling in each syllable she breathed. Ignoring his homeroom teacher meant a week of detention, but it was worth it for those few minutes of bliss listening to her. Now her voice had gone, Finn realised how cold he felt, disappointment lingering vividly in his heart.

In all honesty, he had no idea what came over him when he heard her voice. Usually he was a sleepy, bored out of his mind jock, skimming through classes and making out with his totally hot girlfriend Quinn Fabray. Then he heard Rachel's voice and he didn't know anymore. Finn didn't ask anyone, not even his best friend Puck. He didn't want to get kicked off the football team for being a pansy and Quinn would have been totally offended that he was that obsessed with another girls voice. He totally got it though; it was kinda freaky. All of this thinking kept Finn awake in his third period history instead of falling into his normal sleepy stouper. He didn't make a habit of thinking: thinking meant energy and he was a strapping lad according to his mom, so he used more energy then most. So why waste some on thinking? Finn decided this time had to be counted as an exception.

After thirty minutes of doodling on his paper and mulling through his potential choices, Finn made the decision to ask Rachel what had made her quit the announcements. If Puck had slushied her or something, he was sure he could get him to lay off, so there was no problem, right?

At lunch, towering over the sea of students (being six foot three sometimes had it's advantages) he felt sorta sad when he couldn't see her. "Well that's okay," he thought, "maybe she's sick or studying or something."

After a week of not seeing her, he felt a little worried.

After two of no Rachel, he felt sick to his stomach.

After three he realised she must have transfered. And she wasn't coming back.

So Finn slipped back into reality, almost as if Rachel had never existed. He played football and basketball, threw kids into dumpsters, grabbed keg with Puck and went to second base with Quinn. It was only at night that he let himself remember - remember the joy and warmth he'd felt when he had heard the mysterious Rachel Berry's voice.

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_Hope you enjoyed it :) Please review? :)_


	2. Snow Makes It Difficult To Run

_Hi guys! I'm really, really sorry I haven't updated since I published this fic. I haven't run out of ideas, the reasons to which I haven't updated are in my other Finchel fic - Down Goes Another One. Quite honestly though, school should have calmed down now so I should (hopefully) be back more regularly now. Thank you for your incredible response! Eleven reviews already, that made me smile so big every time I got the email about one. I hope this chapter doesn't let you down and I hope you enjoy! If there's any mistakes, by the way, my bad, I don't have a beta and I just wanted to get this out there. **Warning; **there's a lot of cursing in this chapter. Mainly because of Puck and his constant berating of Finn. Bad Puck._

**DISCLAIMER (sorry, I forgot last time): I don't own Glee sadly. If I did, Finchel would never split up, neither would Quick and Cory would have to have his shirt off every scene.**

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Groaning loudly, Finn awoke to the sound of his vibrating phone on his bedside table. He stretched his overly grown limbs, yawned widely and wiped the sleep from his eyes wearily. Cracking his fingers, he sat up in his bed and grabbed his phone, snapping it up on the eighth ring.

"S'up douche?" Puck's vicious tone snapped through the phone, raising Finn slightly from his sleepy stupor.

"What the hell Puckerman, it's like 10am in the morning in the freaking winter break!" Finn groaned under his breath - he couldn't be bothered with Puck this morning.

"Okay Finnessa, don't get your balls in a twist. Just get the fuck up, grab a shower - cause I can smell you from here and it's fucking disgusting! - and meet me outside the corner shop in an hour, alright?"

"It's the winter break!" Finn began to argue but only received the dialling tone as an answer. _What an ass!_

Glancing out of the window, he saw a petite brunette girl running up the hill his street was on, her face flushed from the effort of jogging through snow. She reminded him of someone Finn knew, someone he couldn't quite place. Finn had a feeling that this person could have been quite special to him and the thought of forgetting them irritated him.

Swinging his legs out of the bed and forgetting all about the running girl, he ran his fingers through his hair and began to mutter incoherent curses under his breath. There was no way Finn could be ready in an hour; he was way too tired for another infamous 'Puckerman Plan'.

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Rachel had been up nice and early every day throughout the winter break. She had a ritual - every morning she would wake up at 6am sharp, have a piece of fresh fruit to awaken her senses and then have a run on her elliptical. It was of the upmost importance to ensure she stayed at full health and didn't over indulge during the holidays – she didn't want to come back any plumper or out of shape in time for the next musical.

Rachel's new school had been incredible so far. In her first three months, she'd snatched the lead in Dorothy and performed it to the highest standard the school had ever seen (well that wasn't _exactly _what the school paper said, but it was close enough). She felt as a true star should; surrounded by passionate performers who made her look even more fantastic as the leading female. Although she hadn't made people she could adorn with the term 'friends' she was highly respected for her talent and the few acquaintances she had made were perfectly lovely. This was all she'd ever wanted – to be surrounded by talented people, in a positive environment where school and music were combined.

Today, she felt like a change – a challenge. Weighing up the weather outside (metres of fresh show) she decided she could risk a run. Rachel slipped on her specially designed running shoes, two t-shirts and a sweatshirt and began to run. She found that maybe she had over estimated her talents as she got further away from her house; the snow was slippy and difficult to negotiate. When she ran onto an unnecessarily giant hill, she decided to give up, slowing to a walk and panting until she got to the top.

_Perhaps not one of your best ideas, _she thought, wiping her brow with her hand and walking down the other side of the hill. With her exhaustion she forgot to display caution and misplaced her foot, slipping on the ice. Falling backwards, she skidded on her back down the rest of the hill, wincing when she came to a halt.

"Crap!" she cursed under her breath. Although not one to usually swear, she felt this was the perfect moment to display such language.

As she pulled herself up and brushed the snow off her clothes she noticed a boy leaning against a lamp post, a smirk forming on his face as he noticed her glaring at him. He sauntered over, winking at her just as she was about to set off back home.

"Hey there!" he grinned, obviously checking her out as his eyes roamed up and down her body.

"Hello there," she responded, a cautious look in her eyes as she weighed up his face. _Is he a potential rapist? I forgot my rape whistle! Just make an excuse and move on._

"What's your name?" he asked, throwing her a wink.

For a moment, she considered not telling him. Then she realised how foolish she was acting. _It's not like you've ever had a boyfriend. Just because a boy is talking to you doesn't mean they want to murder/rape/kidnap you most of the time. They might want to tap this!_

"Rachel," she answered tentatively, "and yours?"

"It's Puck," he smiled, "and babe, I wouldn't mind your number!"

Rachel smiled. He was a handsome boy, and he _was _the first to ask for her number in approximately a year (that's if you can count Jacob Ben Israel). Although there were many good looking boys at her new school, none of them were slightly interested in Rachel and she had to admit she hadn't felt a spark with any of them either, despite her weakness for talented male singers. The only person she'd ever felt a spark with was an overgrown jock and she wasn't going to even think of him!

But then her morals came flooding back and she couldn't help but realise how little she knew this boy - not at all well enough to give him her number!

"I'm sorry but I don't have my cell with me and I'm not quite sure of my number," Rachel shrugged. _Lies. _She'd learnt it the moment her dads had given her the cell at thirteen to give out to any handsome suitors. Needless to say, it had never happened.

"Well that's alright. I guess we'll just have to meet up again some other time then. My friend and I are going to a hot party tonight and I haven't quite found somebody to come with me yet. Speaking of which, I'm late to go meet up with him now. So, I can just give you the address and you can come along?" he placed his hand on her shoulder, almost as if he was trying to reassure her.

Rachel didn't even think about her answer (a most un-Rachel-like thing to do).

"Of course. What's the address?" she answered, trying to ignore the fact his hand was on her shoulder.

"455 Lakeside Road. Be there, Rachel!" he smiled, dropped a kiss on her cheek and sauntered back off down the street.

Rachel couldn't help but think that this was her lucky day. Even if she didn't end up dating this boy, she'd just made - maybe - her first proper friend.

* * *

Striding down the street, Finn got to the corner shop more or less dead on time. He saw his best friend Puck grinning like a cat who just got the cheese - or was that the cream?

"Hey, Puck!" he called, "who's put happy drugs in your cereal this morning?"

Puck lifted an eyebrow, but even Finn's comment couldn't lift his grin.

"As a matter of fact, Finn, I have scored myself a date to the party that we're both going to tonight!" Puck lifted up his fist for a fist-bump with Finn, who reciprocated the action.

"Not as if you would have had a problem getting a date anyway. Who is it? And is this why you got me out of bed so early?" Finn grumbled.

"It's this chick I met whilst walking to the shop. She was running and it was totally hot the way her boobs were moving as she ran, and then she sort of slowed down at the top of the hill and then kinda fell on the ice. When she fell - and this totally doesn't sound hot - but it was like the hottest thing ever, and you could see all of her curves and I could tell she had such a nice ass! She's called Rachel, and yes, douche, that's why I got you out of bed this early. We're in charge of the keg again," Puck replied.

"I swear I've never heard you say so many words in one minute. Too many to process this early, ass," Finn said, flipping off Puck.

"Basically, my date's a hotass babe called Rachel. It's okay for you, you have Quinn for all the parties. Tonight we're going to Brittany's party and we're in charge of keg. No worries, I got the money off Brittany to buy it already," Puck nodded, making his way to the door of the corner shop.

Finn followed; his heart already in his shoes as soon as Puck has said that about Quinn. Quinn was hot and all, and really good at making out. She'd even let them get to second base a few weeks back and he couldn't lie - when she'd whispered in his ear after their last making out session ''Next time it's third base baby!'' he'd totally had to think of the mailman. And he knew that like a million guys would kill to be in his position, dating the hottest, most popular girl in the year AND being told that they were going to go to third base together (probably tonight!). But something didn't feel right anymore and he didn't want to be one of those guys who led girls on. Also, what if he was like, bad at third base and stuff like that? He'd be dumped and then his popularity would plummet (not like it wouldn't plummet if he dumped Quinn).

Finn didn't like thinking about it all - it was confusing and his thoughts weren't even properly sorted in his own head yet, never mind sorted enough so he could act upon it. Going to third base with Quinn Fabray should be exciting anyway, so he didn't _want_ to think about it. It would be crazy not to do it with her and Finn Hudson was not a crazy man.

"Okay man," Finn finally replied, "what keg are we getting in?"

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_I hope you enjoyed it and that it was satisfactory, seeing as I haven't wrote anything for a while. Please tell me what you thought in a review? :)_


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